More old-auto assets being recycled: Alfa 166 platform sold to China

[nadepalma]

With Indian, Chinese, and Russian automakers becoming more a factor on the world stage, I wonder if we'll see more and more of these types of agreements in the years ahead?

We've already seen some older British assets from the defunct MG Rover Group head to China. Chrysler sold its old Sebring/Stratus car-line to a Russian concern, and Chinese buyers wanted to buy the old Mini/Chrysler Tritec engine factory in Brazil. And there are plenty of other examples.

Obviously this stuff has been going on for years (Fiat sold their old platforms to Yugo, SEAT, for quite a long time, and Renault did the same) - but could we see it accelerate as "non-western" nations look to step up the assult on world markets?

Just food for thought.

SOURCE: Motor Authority

China's state-run Guangzhou Automobile Group, which also builds cars for Honda under the Li Nian brand name, has purchased Alfa Romeo's 166 platform. The Italian carmaker last used the platform to build a sedan which was discontinued in early 2007.

The purchase presages the company's efforts to develop its own brand, according to Automotive News Europe. Currently the company is primarily focused on producing vehicles for Honda, including the Odyssey, Accord and Jazz/Fit for the local Chinese market. Some of the Jazz vehicles are exported to Europe, however, meaning the company's quality of output is similar to that of the Japanese plants also building the car.

MORE HERE

[genjy]

That's pretty smart... selling obsolete engineering and designs.

Keeping potential competition a couple generations behind while making money at it.

[treekiller]

If you're gonna buy a platform might as well make it a gorgeous one like the Alfa.

But this is nothing new.

There is a rumor that the Toyota A-B and F series straight 6 engines. 1934-1993 were little more then cast off GM molds. but they could have been reverse engineeredt.

Toyota bought GM Stovebolt molds, and purchased parts directly from GM's suppliers to create some of their first engines... what a long strange trip it's been.

[Member17739]

Originally Posted by genjy

That's pretty smart... selling obsolete engineering and designs.

Keeping potential competition a couple generations behind while making money at it.

Never mind that the sold platform is still years ahead of what the Chinese are capable of designing themselves.

[MaxLegroom]

Originally Posted by Member17739

Never mind that the sold platform is still years ahead of what the Chinese are capable of designing themselves.

That's one way of putting it, though I wonder what lessons, if any, they can learn from studying the engineering of this car.

[rueben44]

Well If you use say 2007 CTS platform to make a midsized car for the Chinese market what would be wrong with that. It would be almost as good as a new platform and what will really matter to the consumer is 1) is it safe and 2) the driving dynamics which are not totally based off the platform. You can actually still make relevant products!

Plus you save hundreds of millions in development cost.....

[Beau]

I wonder if the chinese will use toxic, or radioactive materials to make their vehicles, like they do with everything they sell to us that goes in Walmart.

[blawrence73]

Originally Posted by Beau

I wonder if the chinese will use toxic, or radioactive materials to make their vehicles, like they do with everything they sell to us that goes in Walmart.

They probably will, and then sell it back to us, and we'll buy it.

[mrbig]

They'll reverse engineer it and only be a few years behind appose to being decades behind. They bought a ticket into the future.

[genjy]

Originally Posted by Member17739

Never mind that the sold platform is still years ahead of what the Chinese are capable of designing themselves.

Originally Posted by mrbig

They'll reverse engineer it and only be a few years behind appose to being decades behind. They bought a ticket into the future.

The vehicles sold aren't anything a group of engineers can't dismantle and reverse-engineer.

Might as well make money selling them the designs instead of getting nothing.

[buildacariwant]

didnt GM sell old corsica parts to hyundai?

[Bravada]

Originally Posted by buildacariwant

didnt GM sell old corsica parts to hyundai?

How could this brilliant strategy fail to bring down Hyundai...

[blkwrxsti]

Originally Posted by genjy

The vehicles sold aren't anything a group of engineers can't dismantle and reverse-engineer.

Might as well make money selling them the designs instead of getting nothing.

Short-sighted auto industry - the more you do to lower barriers to entry today, the more competitors you will have tomorrow. The dumbestics have already learned this by out-sourcing the manufacture and even the engineering of most of their components. At least GM and Ford seem to have learned their lesson, even though they have no money left with which to reverse the trend.

Not to mention that if this Chinese group doesn't mind their Ps & Qs, the chinese market will develop a very unflattering view of Alfa's quality / reliability / workmanship. That could be a problem if Alfa ever wants to sell their new designs in China on their own...

[CaptainDan]

Originally Posted by genjy

The vehicles sold aren't anything a group of engineers can't dismantle and reverse-engineer.....

The car itself is a mere pittance campared to the engineering complexity of the machinery used to make all the parts. And you aren't going to learn much about the half-milllion-dollar die set it takes to build it, by looking at a fender.

[SUPERBADD75]

and Land Rover used an old Buick V8 design for years before Ford finally gave them something from their parts bin. nothing new, so to speak.